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1. ROC statement on Beijing’s announcement of the
East China Sea air defense identification zone
The ROC National Security Council convened a
meeting at 3 PM on November 23, 2013, with the heads of
the ministries of the Interior, Foreign Affairs, National
Defense, and the Mainland Affairs Council to discuss
mainland China’s announcement at 10 AM of the same day
regarding the establishment of an “air defense
identification zone” in the East China Sea. In response, the
ROC government hereby states its position as follows:
1. The ROC maintains sovereignty over the Diaoyutai
Islands, a fact which is not affected in any way by mainland
China’s announcement concerning an air defense
identification zone. The ROC government will continue to
defend its sovereignty over the Diaoyutai Islands, protect
the interests of its fishermen, and engage in actions aimed
at safeguarding the ROC’s fishing rights.
2. With regard to the situation in the East China Sea,
ROC President Ma Ying-jeou announced the East China
Sea Peace Initiative on August 5, 2012, urging all parties
concerned to exercise restraint, avoid actions that could
escalate confrontation in the region, shelve disputes, not
abandon dialogue, and observe international law, so as to
resolve disputes in a peaceful manner. The ROC
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government calls on all parties concerned to continue to
resolve disputes through peaceful dialogue, in order to
prevent tensions in the region from rising.
3. With regard to the fact that the air defense
identification zone announced by mainland China in the
East China Sea overlaps to some extent with the ROC air
defense identification zone, the ROC Armed Forces will
adhere to the principles set forth in the East China Sea
Peace Initiative, with the aim of resolving disputes
peacefully. In addition, the ROC Armed Forces will take
appropriate measures to ensure the safety of ROC
airspace.
4. The ROC government is deeply concerned about
developments in the region following mainland China’s
announcement of its air defense identification zone. It will
keep in close contact with all parties concerned to
safeguard regional peace and stability.
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2. East China Sea Peace Initiative viable model for
regional peace
Foreign Press Liaison Office
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Republic of China (Taiwan)
Nov. 25, 2013
The East China Sea Peace Initiative, proposed on Aug.
5, 2012, by President Ma Ying-jeou of the Republic of
China (ROC), provides a viable empirical model for
peaceful resolution of regional disputes, especially
following Beijing’s Nov. 23, 2013, announcement that it has
established an “East China Sea air defense identification
zone.”
The day after the announcement, the ROC National
Security Council issued a press release reaffirming ROC
sovereignty over the Diaoyutai Islands, outlining the East
China Sea Peace Initiative and measures to ensure the
safety of ROC airspace, and stressing that the government
is deeply concerned about regional developments and will
maintain close contact with all parties.
The disputed ADIZ includes the Diaoyutais, claimed
by the ROC, Japan and mainland China. Beijing’s
declaration has drawn strong responses from Washington
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and Tokyo, warning of escalating tensions and potential for
conflict in the region.
With the risk of an incident rapidly increasing, the
ROC calls on all parties to adhere to the pragmatic
approach of the East China Sea Peace Initiative, which
has proven its viability in the Taiwan-Japan fisheries
agreement that was signed April 10, 2013.
The initiative, in line with the government’s
commitment to acting as a peacemaker, urges all parties to
replace confrontation with dialogue, shelve territorial
disputes through negotiations, formulate a code of conduct
in the East China Sea and engage in joint development of
resources.
By emphasizing cooperation over conflict and
refocusing attention on the sharing of economic resources,
the initiative can help parties rise above nationalism and
territorial claims, and see beyond their own interests in
order to safeguard regional peace and stability.
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3. Executive Yuan reaffirms ROC stance on mainland
China’s announcement of ADIZ
Foreign Press Liaison Office
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Republic of China (Taiwan)
Nov. 30, 2013
The Executive Yuan released the following statement
in Taipei on the evening of Nov. 29, 2013, reaffirming the
Republic of China government position in the wake of
mainland China’s announcement of an “East China Sea air
defense identification zone”:
1. The National Security Council issued a four-point
statement on Nov. 23, 2013, emphasizing that the
government of the Republic of China will staunchly defend
its sovereignty over the Diaoyutai Islands. It also reiterated
the East China Sea Peace Initiative put forth by President
Ma Ying-jeou, urging all parties concerned to exercise
restraint and refrain from antagonistic actions; shelve
disputes and not abandon dialogue; and observe
international law, resolving disputes through peaceful
means. The ROC government maintains an
unquestionably clear and rock-solid stance on this matter.
2. Mainland China did not consult Taiwan prior to its
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announcement of its East China Sea air defense
identification zone (ADIZ). This has resulted in overlap
between Taiwan’s and mainland China’s air defense
identification zones and flight information regions (FIR).
The ROC government believes that this action is not
conducive to the positive development of cross-strait
relations. Taiwan will express its serious concerns
regarding this matter to mainland China through
appropriate channels.
3. The ROC Ministry of National Defense (MND), to
safeguard national security and public welfare, has
instructed the armed forces to carry out naval and air
security missions in accordance with the existing ADIZ;
standard military practices will not be changed due to the
establishment of mainland China’s East China Sea ADIZ.
The MND will continue to strengthen information collection,
monitoring and reconnaissance within Taiwan’s ADIZ to
keep track of all air and sea activity, provide early warning
and ensure maritime and air security.
4. The Civil Aeronautics Administration of the Ministry
of Transportation and Communications will relay the filing
of flight plans for civil aircraft in accordance with relevant
regulations and practices of the International Civil Aviation
Organization (ICAO) regarding FIR notification, based on
requests from airline companies in Taiwan and abroad, to
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ensure the safety of passengers.
5. The ROC government is deeply concerned about
developments in the region and has unequivocally urged
all parties concerned to resolve related regional disputes
through peaceful bilateral or multilateral negotiations so as
to jointly maintain regional peace and stability.
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4. Some people believe that US support for Taiwan,
especially in the face of growing Chinese power,
has lessened in tangible ways. What are your
thoughts on that relationship and what is your
strategy for Taiwan if US support for Taiwan
continues to weaken?
President Ma: As you have just mentioned, a few US
scholars have suggested that the United States give up on
or reduce aid to Taiwan. However, this has never been the
mainstream opinion of US academia, and even less so, the
attitude of the US government. In fact, the US
government’s cooperation with the Republic of China in the
areas of economy and security has only strengthened, not
weakened. Why is that? It is clear that the United States
seeks to return to Asia, to rebalance to Asia, where the
Republic of China plays a very important role.
Our cooperation with the United States is apparent to
all in the economic and security domains. But we are also
engaged in other areas, such as counter-terrorism,
prevention of nuclear proliferation and proliferation of
weapons of mass destruction, and the combat against
human trafficking. Taiwan maintains very close cooperation
with the United States and our performance has been
outstanding, which has gained a high level of US
affirmation. Our bilateral relationship is one of multi-faceted
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cooperation and is proceeding very well. Our relations with
the United States are closer now than prior to the
severance of our diplomatic ties in 1979.
(2013/10/25)
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5. Is there need for more arms sales to Taiwan?
President Ma: The earliest request for the recent three
arms sales to Taiwan was made 10 years ago. The arms
will continue to arrive and be put into service. For example,
the first P-3C anti-submarine reconnaissance aircraft has
already arrived, with another three to be delivered at the
end of the year. These are very important weapons for
anti-submarine warfare, and will enable Taiwan to join the
United States and other countries in regional defense
efforts. There are some weapons that we wish to buy, but
which we are unable to procure at the present time.
Submarines are an example. We can manufacture some of
the defensive weapons we need, but others need to be
purchased from the United States. To us, they are vital for
maintaining effective deterrence in national defense.
(2013/10/25)
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6. The leader of mainland China, Xi Jinping, stated
that the political divide must step-by-step reach a
final resolution and cannot be passed from
generation to generation. What do you believe this
means?
President Ma: At an APEC meeting, mainland Chinese
leader Mr. Xi Jinping did say that the cross-strait division
cannot be handed off to subsequent generations to handle.
Perhaps he meant that he hopes that political issues can
be discussed at an early date. Actually, since I took office
and began to improve cross-strait relations, among the
political, economic, and other matters the two sides have
dealt with, the political ones can be divided into high-level
and low-level issues. High-level issues include the “one
China” principle, on which the two sides came to a
consensus in 1992, that is, “one China, respective
interpretations.”
As to low-level matters, in the past five years we have
signed 19 agreements, some of which are politically very
sensitive. For example, the Cross-Strait Agreement on
Joint Crime-fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance we
signed in 2009 concerns the two sides’ exercise of public
authority and jurisdiction, which is clearly politically
sensitive. But operations taking place under it have gone
well for four years now. While the agreement concerns
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sensitive topics, the agreement itself is neutral. What is
more, thanks to this agreement, the two sides have
arrested over 5,000 criminals.
The agreement on the establishment of representative
offices in each other’s territory that we are now negotiating
is similar in that it is also politically very sensitive, but the
institutions themselves are neutral. So it is not the case
that we are deliberately evading political questions. Our
principle is to address pressing issues before less pressing
ones, easy ones before difficult ones, and economic ones
before political ones. It is not the case that we are only
addressing economic issues and avoiding political ones.
Where the time is ripe and the issue is pressing, we
address these issues. But right now, we believe we should
address the issue of establishing representative offices, as
these can offer services and help to our people traveling,
doing business, or studying in mainland China. So we are
not avoiding such issues.
(2013/10/25 )
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7. Is it possible that in your generation the two sides
of the Taiwan Strait engage in political negotiations?
President Ma: The mainland hopes to discuss a
cross-strait peace agreement. But our people are
somewhat concerned that such talks would end up as a
discussion about unification. So two years ago, when we
first brought up this issue, we thought it would be best to
first put it to a referendum to confirm that we had strong
public support. If so, it would be easier to move on with
discussions. Mainland China has brought up talking about
mutual military confidence-building measures. This is also
very sensitive. However, at this time, we have not reached
consensus in Taiwan. Though we have seen continuing
development in cross-strait relations, on this issue,
perhaps there will be a time—when the issue is perhaps
not so sensitive and when we have a consensus—at which
point we would not rule out discussing it.
I want to stress that our cross-strait policy is to pursue
peaceful cross-strait development and maintain the status
quo of “no unification, no independence, and no use of
force” under the framework of the ROC Constitution and
the 1992 Consensus. In fact, over the past two decades,
opinion polls have shown that around 80 percent of the
people support the maintenance of the status quo of “no
unification, no independence, and no use of force.” This
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closely reflects mainstream public opinion in Taiwan.
(2013/10/25)
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8. Do you believe that there is a possibility for leaders
of the two sides of the Taiwan Strait to meet? At
what kind of events? What conditions would have
to be met?
President Ma: This question has come up a lot
recently. My basic attitude is that for the leaders of the two
sides to meet, the nation must require it, the people must
support it, and the meeting should proceed in a dignified
manner, with equal status for both sides.
(2013/10/25)
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9. Will the deepening of cross-strait relations affect
Taiwan’s sovereignty?
President Ma: You just said that our improvement of
relations with mainland China would undermine our
independence and autonomy. This is a major
misunderstanding, since the situation happens to be the
reverse. Before I took office, Taiwan’s international
participation was rather limited. After I took office, as we
promoted improvement of the cross-strait relationship and
signed one agreement after another, our international room
for maneuver gradually expanded.
For example, in the second year of my first term,
Taiwan was able to take part in the World Health Assembly
(WHA) held by the World Health Organization (WHO). We
did so as an observer under the name Chinese Taipei. This
was 38 years after we had left the United Nations. We now
have taken part in the WHA for five years in a row with no
problems. Our relationship with the WHO is increasingly
close and through this organization, our liaison with the
health agencies of other countries has become closer.
The year after we first attended the WHA, we acceded
to the Government Procurement Agreement, which is an
agreement under the World Trade Organization. This
allows us to take part alongside 41 other member states in
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government procurement. This is also something we could
not do before.
Similarly, in September of this year, we took part in the
Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organization
(ICAO). This was the first time we participated in ICAO
since our departure from it 42 years ago. The improvement
in cross-strait relations had a great deal to do with this.
All of what I have just mentioned pertains to our
multilateral relations. In terms of bilateral relations, after we
signed with mainland China the Cross-Straits Economic
Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) in June 2010,
two months later in August Singapore expressed
willingness to begin talks about signing an economic
cooperation agreement, which is now nearing completion.
In 2011, New Zealand also indicated that it wanted to sign
an economic cooperation agreement with us. It was signed
after the completion of negotiations in July of this year. We
expect that it will soon be approved by our Legislative
Yuan. Since we have signed the ECFA with mainland
China, many countries have shown interest in holding talks
with us in this area, including the European Parliament,
which has passed a number of resolutions supporting the
signing of such an agreement with us. We currently are
holding such talks with a number of countries. From this it
is evident that the improvement in our relationship with
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mainland China has not shrunk our international room for
maneuver, it has actually expanded it. So, you just
mentioned that some people think that after we improve
relations with mainland China it will limit our independence
and autonomy, but it happens to be the reverse.
In fact, our relationship with Japan is the same. The
year after we signed the ECFA with mainland China, Japan
signed an investment pact with us. Japan has already
been investing in Taiwan for six decades; so, why did it
suddenly want to sign an investment pact with us when it
had never raised the issue before? Obviously because it
has not yet signed a free trade agreement with mainland
China, so via the investment pact signed with us, Japan
can invest in Taiwan and sell its products on the mainland.
This is beneficial to Japan. Examples such as these
indicate that, as we have improved our relationship with
mainland China, we have also bettered our international
relations. In the past, these two conflicted in a vicious cycle.
Now it has been changed into a virtuous cycle. I think that
is quite evident.
In addition, five years ago when I took office, only 54
countries and territories afforded us landing-visa or
visa-waiver treatment, but now that number has grown to
134. The reason that it is up by 80 over these years is that
our improvement of cross-strait relations has facilitated
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peace in East Asia, causing countries to perceive the
Republic of China as an asset, not a liability. Thus, they are
happy to welcome our sophisticated citizens to visit them.
These situations are all linked, not independent. So, the
view that you just mentioned is totally untrue.
(2013/10/25)
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10. The Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting
The president noted that the two sides of the Taiwan
Strait were unable to forge a joint crime fighting
mechanism in the past due to their political and military
confrontation, but since he took office in 2008 there has
been progress in this respect. On April 26 of 2009, he said,
Taiwan and mainland China signed the Cross-Strait Joint
Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement,
which has been enormously beneficial in cross-border
investigations and handling of criminal cases.
President Ma further explained that since the two
sides of the Taiwan Strait signed the agreement,
authorities have jointly solved 73 major criminal cases,
apprehended 5,485 suspects, and repatriated 280
criminals to Taiwan. In addition, he said, since some
criminal suspects might try to flee to Southeast Asia, the
cooperation between Taiwan and mainland China is not
limited to the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. Rather, the two
sides dispatch investigators to third areas to engage in
investigations and then bring suspects back to Taiwan or
mainland China, the president stated. President Ma said
this leaves suspects nowhere to flee, and thus helps
Taiwan to achieve its objective of working with other
jurisdictions to jointly combat crime.
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As for the results of Taiwan's cooperation with other
nations in the combating of crime, the president noted,
Taiwan and the Philippines in September of last year
together cracked a cross-border scam group, and a plane
was chartered to repatriate 290 suspects to Taiwan to face
trial here. He stated that the Taiwan-Philippines Agreement
on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters, signed in
April of this year, has become an important tool in
combating crime, and it helps both governments to
effectively maintain public order and safety.
( 2013/11/28President Ma meets participants
attending International Symposium on Regional Security
and Transnational Crime)
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11. Fishing disputes between Taiwan and mainland
China
As for fishing disputes between Taiwan and mainland
China, President Ma commented, both sides are currently
engaged in negotiations, and he hopes to establish a joint
conservation and management area to protect fishing
resources and help reduce unnecessary friction.
(2013/10/29 President Ma meets delegation from
European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs)
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12. What is your view on your low approval ratings?
President Ma: I think this has a lot to do with some of
the reforms we have been promoting in recent years, for
example the reasonable pricing of electricity and gasoline.
In the past, our electricity and gasoline prices did not
accurately reflect importation costs, and this situation could
no longer continue. We therefore had to make some
difficult decisions. Following more than a year of effort,
electricity and gasoline prices have gradually become
more reasonable.
Of course, there have also been several other policies
that have caused controversy, including pension reforms
and the US beef issue. Sometimes, however, things that
need to be done can no longer wait. This affects our
approval ratings, but I believe that, even though these
measures may not be very popular for a certain period of
time, they will benefit the long-term development of
Taiwan.
Taiwan is a country that relies on imports for 98
percent of its energy needs. We cannot use the
government’s budget to subsidize people that use
relatively large amounts of electricity and oil. This is not in
line with the user-pay principle, and affects the efficiency of
energy use. We know that some of these decisions are not
popular, but for the long-term development of Taiwan we
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sometimes have to accept people’s dissatisfaction.
However, our approach to these issues has improved,
so as to minimize the impact on people’s lives. For
example, the recent increase in electricity prices has been
much more moderate than last year. Of course, we have
learned some lessons in this process. I believe that, if we
gradually continue on this path, the situation can be
improved.
Before we raised electricity prices in April of last year,
they were even lower than they were in 1982. This could
no longer go on.
(2013/10/25)
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13. Could you say what it means to you to be
Taiwanese? Is there a relationship between Taiwan
independence and Taiwan identity?
President Ma: The issues you just mentioned were
more pertinent 20 or 30 years ago. In recent years,
however, these questions have become much less
relevant, as everyone in Taiwan upholds the principles of
“no unification, no independence, and no use of force,” as
well as the ROC Constitution.
We all know that the Republic of China is our country
and Taiwan is our homeland. The number of people
holding this view continues to grow. Furthermore, in the
past people did not show the enthusiasm toward the ROC
national flag they do today. Now, during international
baseball games we always see our national flag, and
everyone cheers on the national team. There is no
controversy over this. From this we can see that our
citizens’ sense of national identity is growing. Even though
some people still hold different views, these views no
longer represent the mainstream of our society.
Nevertheless, we are a democratic country, and we still
have to respect the fact that some people hold different
views.
(2013/10/25)
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14. What do you think your legacy will be for Taiwan?
President Ma: Most people, when talking about this
question, will mention my performance with regard to
cross-strait and international relations. A peaceful Taiwan
Strait and a friendly international environment have been
two of my main goals. I have worked hard to reach these
goals, and I have achieved more results than in the past.
However, in terms of domestic reforms, we have promoted
many policies that will have a profound impact on Taiwan
and will affect all of our citizens, such as the reasonable
pricing of gasoline and electricity.
As for our social welfare system, we have amended
the Public Assistance Act, increasing the number of people
from low-income households that receive assistance from
260,000 to 650,000. We have also promoted reform of the
national pension and labor pension systems. In addition,
young parents can apply for maternity or paternity leave,
allowing them to take six months of leave a year before
their child reaches the age of two. During these six months,
parents still receive 60 percent of their salaries, giving
them the time and money to take care of their newborn
children. This policy, which we did not have in the past, has
been very popular.
Meanwhile, in terms of saving energy and reducing
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carbon dioxide emissions, we have reversed the past trend
of continuously increasing carbon emissions in Taiwan.
Now, emissions have been reduced to 2005 levels. More
importantly, the efficiency of our energy use has greatly
improved. We have set very clear goals: We aim to reduce
emissions to 2005 levels by 2020, and to 2000 levels by
2025. Even though these are very ambitious targets that
require a lot of effort, we continue to proceed in this
direction.
Earlier, we spent quite some time talking about
cross-strait and international relations, areas in which we
have made significant progress compared to the past. Our
ties with the United States, Japan and mainland China are
the best they have been for 30, 40 and 60 years,
respectively. By creating peaceful cross-strait relations for
the people of Taiwan, as well as a friendly international
environment, many issues will no longer be a problem
moving forward, or at least will be greatly mitigated. This is
very important. These are goals I set for myself when
assuming office five years ago, and over the past few
years we have moved closer to reaching them.
With regard to domestic reforms, we have attached
great importance to justice and fairness, and have
therefore spared no effort in fighting corruption and
promoting a clean government. Even cases in which our
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fellow KMT members violate the law are treated very
seriously, and we hope to create a clean and competent
government. We have already achieved some concrete
results in this area.
Over the past few years, we have also promoted the
second-generation National Health Insurance (NHI). The
NHI is a social insurance program that we are very proud
of in Taiwan. Similar to other measures, at first some
people may not have approved of this program, but now it
has proven to be very stable, and the NHI will not
experience any financial problems before 2016.
The crime rate in Taiwan has also continued to fall,
while our success in solving criminal cases has increased.
In fact, social order is now the best it has been for 17 years.
Meanwhile, in 2006, 727 people in Taiwan were killed as a
result of drunken driving, but in 2013 we actually have a
chance to reduce this number to below 260. We have been
working very hard on this issue, not only at the central
government level. Local governments have also done their
part in coordination with the central government. For many
people, statistics with regard to people being killed may
only be numbers, but each person killed in these incidents
represents a broken family. These are all very important
reforms.
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As for economic development, from 2008 to 2012
Taiwan’s average economic growth rate was 3 percent,
ranking second among the Four Asian Tigers behind
Singapore. In that same period, the global economy grew
at an average rate of 1.9 percent. In the first half of this
year, our economic growth reached 2.06 percent, again
second among the Four Asian Tigers. In addition, in the
IMD’s World Competitiveness Yearbook, for four straight
years we have been ranked in the top 10 among the 58
countries surveyed, as well as third among Asian countries,
outstripping our past performance. Indeed, we have made
significant progress in many areas. Of course, not every
citizen will understand this, but we have done what needed
to be done, and we will continue to push these reforms
until they are completed.
(2013/10/25)